St. Louis defensive end Robert Quinn, left, recovers a fumble by Chicago quarterback Josh McCown for a touchdown in fourth-quarter action. The Rams defeated the Bears, 42-21, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. (Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT)

ST. LOUIS — For one brief, shining moment Sunday in the end zone of the Edward Jones Dome, Devin Hester thought he had brought the Bears back against the Rams and broken an NFL record with a dazzling 62-yard punt return.

Then an official informed Hester about a holding call on Craig Steltz that nullified his touchdown and history. In response, the Bears return man dropped flat on his back in a mixture of mock disbelief and frustration.

You know, the way everybody in Chicago reacted throughout the Bears’ 42-21 loss full of you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me moments.

“It sucks to have a return like that called back,” Hester said.

It stunk even worse for the Bears to let an opportunity like that — a chance to take sole possession of first place in the NFC North — slip away because of another slow start and lack of discipline.

On the Bears’ business trip to Missouri, they took a mental vacation.

Coach Marc Trestman emphasized starting fast, yet the Bears trailed 14-0 just 144 seconds into the game after Tavon Austin’s 65-yard touchdown run and Matt Forte’s fumble at the 7. They committed 10 penalties for 84 yards — three negating touchdowns and a fourth wiping out a 27-yard run by Alshon Jeffery. They again made first-and-goal from the 1 seem more like fourth-and-1 mile, not a yard.

They had a player, rookie Kyle Long, who lost control and should have been ejected after he dove on top of Rams defensive end Williams Hayes and tried kicking him. They had a defense whose players discuss something called gap integrity but showed none in giving up 258 rushing yards. They resembled a team that lacked focus, a notion Trestman objected to when I asked him if he saw any signs that the Bears arrived mentally unprepared.

“Not at all,” he said. “When you say ‘team,’ that’s a little bit harsh because we had a player (Austin) make a dynamic play and a player (Forte) put the ball on the ground. If one guy does it, we all do it, I recognize that. But our guys were ready to play and I think that showed up.”

I think Trestman never sounded more like Lovie Smith. For a coach whose candor has been refreshing, Trestman defending his team’s readiness and complimenting left tackle Jermon Bushrod after Rams defensive end Robert Quinn dominated raised questions of accountability.

One week after showing resilience they want to define them, the Bears simply couldn’t get out of their own way even if Trestman failed to acknowledge it. The Rams exposed a lack of speed and depth, but the Bears’ biggest problems in a 21-point loss were from the shoulders up.

Nothing summed that up more than Long inexcusably attempting to kick Hayes — and he might have connected had his older brother, Chris, not darted off the Rams sideline to pull him off. When referee Jerome Boger said in a statement he “didn’t see a kick” by Long, it spoke volumes about an awful day of officiating.

“You can’t lose your cool (and) I lost my cool,” said Long, who refused to take non-football questions after a week of welcoming non-football questions.

Was a distracted Long in the right state of mind? Were the Bears?

Trestman made us wonder where his head was with 1:11 left in the second quarter and the Bears at their 20. His team trailed 24-14 but had gained 203 yards, and logic dictated going aggressively after points. Instead, Trestman went conservative with two straight running plays. You can find that series in the play-by-play filed under The Beginning of the End.

“If we were coming out on defense after the break I would have thought differently,” Trestman said.

His decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter rather than take a sure field goal proved more controversial — but easier to understand. The Bears could stop nobody and Trestman knew it. Deep down, perhaps Trestman knows this is who the Bears really are, a flawed .500 team with a bad, banged-up defense that forces him to take risks to mask its ineptness.

“This was a track meet,” Trestman said. “We had to play for points. It was frantic out there.”

Calling a run to Michael Bush was harder to defend than going for it. Bush awkwardly fits into any role in Trestman’s offense, yet the Bears foolishly handed him the ball instead of Forte. Another better option: A run-pass option for quarterback Josh McCown, who played his most impressive game yet.

Remember when the Bears were the smartest team in the room?

“We have to be more disciplined,” Bushrod said. “That is not Chicago Bears football.”

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